Government failing disadvantaged

The Government were elected claiming many things, including a promise to renegotiate the ‘bailout’ terms.

Their track record in initiating negotiations on anything is not good — nobody has approached the Labour Relations Commissions on public pay and allowances and the ECB describe our Government as totally compliant.

Last year’s Budget targeted low lying fruit, which is another way of saying hitting those least able to hit back, and so far the same bullying approach is evident in the run-up to the Budget this year.

It seems we have elected people willing to use bullying tactics themselves but unwilling to stand up and argue themselves when faced with a real challenge. The previous Government fought and lost against the ECB, thanks partly to Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan, who now tells us an investigation is unnecessary. I hope the Public Accounts Committee have more sense than to be taken in by the attempt to defuse the situation by selected articles and comments.

Whatever Government or party the electorate might want to punish, the poor, the vulnerable and those struggling to bring up a family should not be made suffer. There is no evidence that senior Labour ministers together with FG are interested in the vulnerable in our society.

Systems for the protection of the poor and vulnerable are being dismantled as low lying fruit to safe guard the wealthy from feeling the consequences of the ECB’s determination to make citizens pay for gambling in the banking sector, flawed accounting measures, sloppy administration of the ECB’s own mandate to control inflation and much, much more.

Our new Government, which was primarily elected to punish FF, has imposed punishment on those whose votes they ‘borrowed’. These borrowed votes are costing the disabled, the poor and the vulnerable much, but are safeguarding the wealthy to whom Enda promised not to touch income tax.

In aiming to punish FF, who is suffering? Who is being protected? Who, if anybody, is standing up for the Irish people? A team who fought and lost at least fought for Ireland, and goodness knows anger and determination at the ECB and others may have been a better motivation to speak for us than the totally compliant crowd who declared they had ‘friends’ in Europe. Some friends, some Government indeed!

Caitriona McClean

Lucan

Co Dublin